On the Eve of Oscar Nominations, Watch James Cromwell Defends "The Artist" from Silent Movie Haters!

Monday, January 23, 2012, 04:53 PMPosted by Manny

I’ve been such a big fan of James Cromwell ever since he sang that sweet lullaby to Babe, the talking pig, in “Babe.” Now, in the Oscar-frontrunner, “The Artist,” Cromwell stars as the loyal driver/bodyguard of fading star, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin).

In recent weeks, much like a Republican presidential candidate frontrunner, many negative things have been hurled at “The Artist.” One of the famous ones was the incessant demands of some U.K. moviegoers who wanted their money back after figuring out that “The Artist” was a silent movie. Huh?

So I asked Cromwell about this, and you will see his response at the end of the video. In this interview, we talked about:

*** Why does he think that most moviegoers fell in love with “The Artist?”*** When he first heard that Michel Hazanavicius wrote a silent film, what did he think?*** How was it shooting a silent movie?*** What does he think of some news reports that U.K. Moviegoers wanted refund for the movie?

Jason O’Mara (“Terra Nova”) and Daniel Sunjata (“Grey’s Anatomy”) co-star with Katherine Heigl (who plays Stephanie Plum) in the upcoming “One for the Money” based on the popular book by Janet Evanovich. O’Mara stars as Joe Morelli and Sunjata plays Ranger. The film opens this Friday, January 27th.

In this interview, we talked about:

*** (To O’Mara) – What made him want to jump from the world of “Terra Nova” to the world of bail bonds in “One for the Money?”

*** (To Sunjata) – What attracted him to the character of Ranger?

*** Did they use the novel by Janet Evanovich as a starting point for their characters?

*** Working with Katherine Heigl?

*** What else did they learn in exploring their characters that they did not learn from watching “Dog the Bounty Hunter?”

Two-time Oscar winner, Maureen McGovern, visits Palm Springs for the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. She’s in town until March 10th for the show “Hot Hot Hot.” I was excited to interview McGovern for her songs are part of the soundtrack of my childhood.

In 1972, she helped win Best Original Song for the song “The Morning After” the theme for “The Poseidon Adventure.” Then in 1974, the theme for “The Towering Inferno,” “We May Never Love Like This Again,” won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards earning McGovern the title of Disaster Theme Queen.

But what I remember her most, is the theme song of 1978’s “Superman,” “Can You Read My Mind,” arguably one of the greatest theme songs in superhero history. The song was not eligible for the Oscars because it was not sung in the movie. Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane, said the lines instead.

Nowadays, McGovern busies herself by touring across America with Palm Springs as one of her stops. It was an honor meeting the songstress, and if she could just read my mind, she’d figure out that I was such a fan.

"The Artist" is unstoppable! The black-and-white silent film by Michel Hazanavicius took home the big prize at the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards (PGA) winning the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.

Besides the competitive awards, the PGA paid homage to many individuals with tribute awards such as Leslie Moonves winning the Milestone Award, Steve Spielberg received the David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures, Don Mischer was given the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television, Stan Lee received teh Vanguard Award, and IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY by Angelina Jolie was given the Stanley Kramer Award.

Welcome back Kate Beckinsale! The actress, who ditched the third flick in the "Underworld" franchise returned for the fourth installment and helped the film soar atop North American box-office. "Underworld: Awakening" debuted at No. 1 with an estimated $25.4 million opening meeting the expectations of its distributing studio, Sony Screen Gems.

At No. 2 was executive producer George Lucas' flick about the Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails." Starring Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr., the flick debuted with a $19.1 million opening which was well above expectations. And it's good for Lucas because he financed the film down to its itsy-bitsy penny since no Hollywood studio wanted to touch it.

But Hollywood can rest easy for now, box-office is up 31 percent compared to the same weekend last year!

"Contraband," the Mark Wahlberg flick which was the king of the box-office world last week fell to the No. 3 spot with $12.2 million.

At No. 4 is awards-hopeful, "Extremely Loud & Incredible Close" starring Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks which made $10.5 million in wider release. Rounding out the Top 5 is Steven Soderbergh's "Haywire" starring Gina Carano. The action flick failed to spark interest with moviegoers as it opened with $9 million.

Here's the estimated Top 10 Box-Office films for weekend of January 20th: